


Daybreak

by legendofthesevenstars



Series: Xenoblade Femslash Week 2021 [3]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29339181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendofthesevenstars/pseuds/legendofthesevenstars
Summary: Linada goes out in search of the source of someone shooting targets at dawn. When she finds Sharla, they talk about the past and why they decided to enter their shared profession.
Relationships: Linada/Sharla
Series: Xenoblade Femslash Week 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151192
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2
Collections: Xenoblade Femslash Week 2021





	Daybreak

**Author's Note:**

> For the Xenoblade Femslash Week prompt, "Stress Relief."

For three nights since Junks had touched down in Colony 6, gunshots had rung out at dawn. None of Shulk’s friends had said anything about it, and only a couple Machina had mentioned it, but Linada was perturbed by the loud bangs echoing off the colony wall. She had woken up at dawn every day for nearly two thousand years, so it wasn’t as if the gunshots were disturbing her sleep. She just needed to make sure nobody was getting hurt, and that whoever was using the gun was old enough, or otherwise skilled enough, to know how to use it.

She had little experience with weapons. The Machina had not needed to defend themselves until they moved to the Fallen Arm, where rogue or wild Mechon would sometimes attack. Linada did not aid in defending the Hidden Village; her job was patching up injuries. She hoped she wouldn’t have to tend to anyone this early in the day, but just in case, she took her toolkit along with her. She had to be prepared to examine anyone, Machina or being of Bionis.

Each loud bang rang in her ears and made her flinch. She stopped to open her toolkit and retrieve a pair of earplugs, then continued toward the source of the noise. Outside the colony by the cliffs stood a Homs woman dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved blouse. She had pushed half of her long black hair behind her shoulders, and the crown of her head was dimly backlit by the approaching dawn. Her muscular arms were bent at the elbow, and she tensed when she fired her bullet, the shot rattling the air. There was a bright flare of ether as the shell burned a hole in a large, square wooden board.

When she was certain there was a lull, Linada called, “Sharla?”

The rifle clicked, and Sharla slung it over her back, then turned around. “Linada? Are you always up so early?”

Her brown skin was tinged blue by the dawn, and her dark eyes sparkled, reflecting the dim light. For a moment, Linada forgot why she’d come out there. Then she felt the weight of the toolkit still in her hand.

“I have been hearing gunfire every morning,” she said, plucking each earplug from her ears. “I merely wanted to check that no one was getting hurt.”

Sharla’s brow knitted in concern. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I must be waking everyone up with this.”

“If you are waking anyone, it is only a few Machina. They have told me they are mildly bothered by the noise. But the Homs, Nopon, and High Entia seem unaffected.”

“Have I been keeping you awake?”

“I am accustomed to waking up at this time. As long as you are not hurting yourself, I do not mind.” Setting her toolkit at her feet, she gestured to the wooden board. “Is this target training?”

“That’s part of it. Mostly, it just helps get my mind off things. It’s a good distraction from what’s happening to the Bionis.” She shuddered. “It makes me queasy just thinking about the Bionis moving. Like I took for granted that it was nearly dead all those years.”

Linada’s hearts clenched. Even after thousands of years, she could still recall the day of the attack in vivid detail. She’d always feared the Bionis would come alive again. It was difficult even to stand on the titan that had taken her people’s lives. Not just because of what the Bionis had done, but because of its dense atmosphere. It was less concentrated at Colony 6, but the ether the Bionis emitted as it awakened was at dizzying levels.

“I am similarly unsettled,” she said. “But I trust that you, Shulk, and the others know what you are doing.”

“I’m so sorry about what happened to the Mechonis.” Sharla bowed her head, strands of her sideswept bangs brushing her brow. “I know I could never completely understand what it’s like. But the second time the Mechon attacked Colony 6, they destroyed it. We were driven out, and we lived in caves on the Bionis’ Leg.”

“Hence the current reconstruction effort?”

Sharla nodded. “The most important thing to me right now is to continue restoring my home. But if I didn’t have the Bionis, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“You need not apologize. We have already made our home on the Fallen Arm for thousands of years. We have grown used to it.”

They fell silent. The dawn was becoming brighter, but Linada didn’t want the conversation to end. She longed to know more about the other doctor. She hadn’t had the chance to get to know her at all, only having worked alongside her when she helped fix Fiora’s body.

“So, this is how you alleviate your stress, anxiety, and other negative feelings?” she asked, gesturing to the boards again. “I have admittedly less training in psychology, but I do know from personal experience how soothing such distractions can be.”

“What makes my stress go away is focusing on something.” Sharla looked at the boards, and Linada saw the bullet holes scattered across them. “I wouldn’t have picked up a gun if Otharon hadn’t encouraged me. And it was my late fiancé, Gadolt, who used to shoot targets when he got all wound up.”

Before Linada could offer any condolences or ask about the late fiancé, Sharla continued, “I didn’t want to use my rifle to hurt the Mechon. I wanted to use it to help people. After I lost my parents, I had to look after my little brother, Juju. He was the only family I had. And after the first time the colony was attacked, that was when I knew for certain I wanted to be a doctor. Because I realized I was going to have to protect the ones I loved if I wanted them to live.

“What was it like for you?” Sharla set her hands on her hips and turned to face Linada. “Did you decide to become a doctor because Bionis attacked Mechonis?”

“It was long before that. Machina are encouraged to explore many different professions. For me, being a doctor was less about protecting my fellow Machina and more about helping them. I was never very social, so that was my way of showing everyone in Agniratha how much I cared about them. Lady Meyneth always taught us to love one another. So being a doctor has always been my way of showing my love.”

Sharla smiled. “That’s a beautiful way to put it. A good doctor has the utmost concern for her patient’s safety and health. And it settles her heart when her patient feels better.”

“I could not agree more.”

“Although…” Sharla furrowed her brow. “The doctor needs to take care of herself, too. And give herself time to heal from her own wounds.” She sighed. “It’s true I haven’t given myself enough care. There are still many things in my life that my mind is trying to understand. And instead of thinking through those things, I shoot bullets at target boards.”

“That is perfectly understandable,” Linada said softly. Taking a step closer to Sharla, she set a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her. “I have spent thousands of years trying to understand what happened when the Bionis attacked Agniratha, and I still struggle to comprehend those events even now. But because of that…” She paused to take a shaky breath. “I am even more resolved to make sure that all the Machina, young and old, are well cared for. It is what Lady Meyneth would want me to do.”

“You’re right.” Sharla smiled. She lifted her hand to rest it on Linada’s upper arm, and Linada’s hearts skipped. “It’s important to make sure everyone’s okay. But it’s also important to take care of yourself, too.”

“You must do the same. You are a very brave and strong woman. You have suffered so much, yet that suffering has inspired no resentment in you, but rather compassion toward others. I admire your devotion to your work.”

Sharla giggled, which was music to Linada’s ears. Her brown eyes seemed to shimmer even more in the brightening dawn. “Aren’t you the flatterer?” She dragged her hand down Linada’s arm, grabbing the hand on her shoulder and squeezing it. “I could say the same about you. For all that you’ve lost, you’ve remained brave and devoted to your duty.” She paused a moment before she asked, “How do _you_ relieve your stress?”

“Ah, well…” Heat rushed from her core unit to her cheeks. She withdrew her hand from Sharla’s shoulder and ducked beneath her collar. “Would you believe me if I said I had a soft spot for cute things?”

“For cute things? Tell me more!”

“My assistant was an engineer before he became a doctor. He makes me little Mechon toys. My favorite is the cricket that jumps across the desk, though I am also fond of the wind-up music box.”

Sharla clasped her hands together, grinning with glee. Gears whirred madly in Linada’s chest. “They sound so interesting! Will you show me?”

Linada chuckled, offering her hand, feeling light as a feather when Sharla took it. “It would be my pleasure.”


End file.
